Rosa Parks (1913-2005) and Martin Luther King Jr. (1929-1968) are two major figures in the fight against racial segregation in the United States. In 1955, Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat to a white passenger on a bus in Montgomery, Alabama. Her arrest sparked a massive protest movement. Martin Luther King Jr. became the leading figure of this peaceful movement for equal rights. Both championed nonviolence and fought for justice and freedom for African Americans. Their commitment contributed to changing laws and attitudes in the United States during the 1950s and 1960s. Today, Rosa Parks and Martin Luther King Jr. remain universal symbols of courage and civil rights.
